


Let's Start At the Beginning

by blindinglights



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Emissary Stiles Stilinski, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-01 17:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5214305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blindinglights/pseuds/blindinglights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In retrospect, Stiles thinks he should have talked to the local alpha and met with the local pack as soon as he moved into town for college. Just maybe, because then he wouldn’t be in the current predicament that he’s in now. Which is being surrounded by four werewolves in a dark parking lot, just at the edge of the woods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Start At the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [andavs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/andavs/gifts).



> So real life things got in the way and this isn't initially what I planned to write, but I ended up writing this. I really hope the person it's for enjoys it. I saw the prompts and saw "Emissary Stiles" so I kinda went with that. 
> 
> Thanks to the mods for working with me.
> 
> Also thank you to tattooedsterek on tumblr for the beta!

In retrospect, Stiles thinks he should have talked to the local alpha and met with the local pack as soon as he moved into town for college. Just maybe, because then he wouldn’t be in the current predicament that he’s in now. Which is being surrounded by four werewolves in a dark parking lot, just at the edge of the woods. 

Every single one of them is wearing a leather jacket, and probably to any outsider, they may look like they belong to some kind of gang or weird leather jacket wearing group. Three of them are probably college students, and Stiles wonders if they go here at all and if he’s walked by them before without realizing who they were.

Stiles scratches the back of his head. “So, I can kinda guess why you’re here.”

The alpha smirks. “You’re in my territory.”

“I am. Which, I have to say, I’m really sorry.” Stiles spreads his arms out, raising his hands up, palm facing up in a gesture of surrender, of _I come in peace_. “I’m Stiles Stilinski, emissary of the McCall pack, and I’m just staying here to get my education. I was going to meet with you soon, but--”

“But you’re a terrible emissary?” The curly blond beta asks. 

Stiles narrows his eyes at him. “No, asshole. I just didn’t have time yet. I was about to, until you guys found me.” 

The alpha presses a hand against his beta. “We’re meeting now. So what can we expect during your stay here?”

“Nothing. I’m here to go to school, that’s it. My alpha is back in our hometown, he’s not here with me, so there’s no alpha intruding in on your territory at all.” 

“Good,” the alpha says, and then, “I’m Derek Hale. These are my betas Erica, Boyd, and Isaac.”

“Nice to meet everyone,” Stiles says, rocking on his heels. He can see his jeep in his periphery and he really just wants to go home already. Even if the alpha – _Derek_ – is nice to look at. “But I kinda need to get home.”

“We can count on your word that everything will be okay while you’re here?” Derek asks.

“Yep. You can count on me one hundred percent,” Stiles assures him. “And you’ll even have a little added protection while we’re at it.”

Derek smiles. “Thank you, Stiles. We appreciate your support. We’ll see you around,” he says, and then he’s already walking away, like he’s just one hundred percent done with the conversation. 

“You’re welcome, nice to meet you and all that!” Stiles yells after the werewolves’ retreating backs. Derek waves back at him and his betas turn their heads to look at him, and then they’re gone, turning a corner into the dark of the college. Stiles sighs, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, really nice to meet you.”

Freaking _werewolves_. 

\--

Stiles actually does end up running into Derek’s betas at school. It’s almost as if just meeting them opened the floodgates of seeing them almost everywhere. Stiles sees Erica first thing in the morning, at the cafe in the science building, where she apparently works. He sees Boyd in the hallway that leads to the English building. He sees Isaac when he’s leaving for the day, passing by him in the parking lot. They don’t talk to each other at all, no real conversations, except for Erica taking his order. 

Stiles doesn’t see Derek again until a week later, when Stiles is left at campus until late at night. Stiles is curled up in a corner in the library with all of his textbooks out and his laptop on his lap when someone clears their throat. Stiles looks up only to see Derek staring down at him, with two coffees, one hand outstretched to hand Stiles one of them.

“Uh, thanks,” Stiles says as he grabs it. 

“I saw you in here and thought you might need this,” Derek tells him.

“I kinda did.” Stiles takes a sip of it before sitting it aside. “I have a paper due Monday and I really need to get it finished.”

“How long have you been here?” Derek asks.

“A few hours now. I think I’m going to call it quits soon,” Stiles tells him. “What’re you doing here?”

“Same thing as you,” Derek replies. “Homework.”

“Wait, really?” 

“I’m in grad school.” Derek rolls his eyes. “I don’t lurk around the school at night, Stiles. I actually go here.”

“Studying what exactly?” Stiles asks, curious. 

“History.” Derek takes a sip of his coffee before continuing. “But I’ve been at campus all day. I was going to go get something to eat, if you want to join me.”

Stiles hesitates for a second, thinking about it. He could easily decline and go home, where he’ll probably either fall asleep or continue studying. He looks up at Derek, considering it. He could have dinner with an attractive guy.

Stiles smiles, shutting his laptop. “Sure, but you’re going to have to deal with me asking you all kinds of questions.” 

\--

They end up going to a nearby diner that serves food all night, catering to college students who pull all-nighters. It’s a ten minute walk from the library and Stiles uses the time to start grilling Derek for answers. He asks about his major and what his undergrad was. Derek doesn’t seem like he’s much of a talker, not like Stiles is, but he answers all of Stiles’ questions. It’s at the diner that Stiles learns about where Derek’s actually from. Stiles almost spits out his water.

Stiles wipes his mouth before asking, “Beacon Hills?” 

“My family is from there,” Derek supplies. “They still live there.”

“Derek -- _Oh_!” Stiles exclaims, then pauses for a moment. “Wait a second. Your mom, alpha Hale, she never said the pack here was her son’s. That could have, you know, helped. A lot, actually.”

“If it helps, she never told me much about you. I was only told an emissary would be showing up, and that I needed to be on the lookout.”

“That makes it sound like I’m dangerous.” 

“I don’t know,” Derek says, and he’s smiling and, “You don’t seem that dangerous to me. Or am I mistaken?”

“I don’t know,” Stiles parrots back easily. “Are you?”

“I don’t think so,” Derek says, and that’s Derek’s leg against his. 

“You could be mistaken, I could be dangerous,” Stiles hedges as he nudges Derek’s leg back.

“Very dangerous,” Derek agrees. “But I think you’re only dangerous to others.”

“And not you?” 

Derek shakes his head. “No.” 

“Look at you, Alpha Hale being all confident and sure that I’m no threat to your precious pack.”

Derek stops pushing around the food on his plate to peer back up at Stiles through his lashes. There’s a smirk to his lips, and he does look like the picture perfect confident alpha. “I think I know.”

“And I think you’re correct,” Stiles says. “Very, _very_ correct, actually.”

\--

Dinner turns into a couple dinners each week, which then turns into Stiles getting invited to Derek’s house for what Erica likes to call “Pack Nights” where they all just gather around the television and eat pizza. Usually they just put on whatever movie someone shouts out first, but sometimes the movie is already picked out by the time Stiles gets there, or sometimes they ask Stiles beforehand because he’s a “guest of the house”. 

Sometimes it feels like a pack away from home, since that’s basically what it is, even if he’s emissary to another pack and he’s not a part of Derek’s pack. Yet, Stiles’ mind likes to remind him. _Yet_.

He doesn’t even know if he could manage two packs. Derek’s pack clearly doesn’t have an emissary, or he would’ve met them by now. But Stiles doesn’t even know if an emissary _can_ belong to two packs. 

“What’re you thinking about?” 

Stiles could lie. He could _try_ to, at least. He’s pretty sure that Erica would catch him and call him on it, though. “Derek doesn’t have an emissary, does he?”

“No, it’s just us,” Erica says.

“But he needs one,” Stiles points out, because he may not know everything about proper pack etiquette yet– his pack back home may be still figuring stuff out, but he knows that much. He knows a pack needs an emissary. It helps. Keeps things in order, protected with a better layer of protection than just a collection of werewolves. 

Maybe there’s not a lot of bad stuff happening in a college town while a pack of werewolves goes to school, but still. 

Erica nods, confirming Stiles’ thoughts. Derek doesn’t have an emissary, but he needs one. 

“You’re an emissary,” Erica says, nudging him in the side.

“Yeah but, Erica, I’m already emissary for a pack,” Stiles reminds her. “I don’t think I can be an emissary for two.”

“Are you sure?” she asks. “Maybe you could be.”

“I don’t know.” 

Derek chooses to walk back into the living room, sitting the pizza boxes down on the coffee table. Boyd walks in next, holding up two movies and asking everyone to choose. Stiles leans forward to grab a slice of pizza, pointing to a random movie and not really caring what is chosen. 

\--

Sometimes he’ll bug Erica at the coffee shop while she works, poking fun at her while she rushes to make orders for people and spills coffee all over her apron. Sometimes he’ll even hang out with Boyd and Isaac late at night in the library while all three of them cram for a quiz. But most of the time? Stiles spends with Derek.

Derek’s kind of this quiet mystery, where he’s quiet around mostly everybody except for his pack and Stiles. It’s almost as if they’re some unwritten rule where he’s grumpy and closed off around people he doesn’t know, but if you know him personally, he’s kind of like this big teddy bear who just so happens to have a rough exterior. At least, that’s what Stiles likes to think about it. It’s nice though, to be able to see that side of Derek. He was like that originally when Stiles met him, out in the dark parking lot, but it didn’t take him long at all to basically warm up to Stiles. 

Stiles loves it. He loves seeing a more comfortable Derek, with his occasional smiles and laughter, this closeness that they seem to be gravitating to. 

Speaking of, Stiles knocks on Derek’s front door, carrying take out. Boyd and Erica are on a date together and Isaac is doing whatever Isaac is doing, so it’s just the two of them tonight.

Stiles likes it like this, likes just spending alone time with Derek. 

“Hi, Stiles.”

“Take out and a movie?” Stiles asks, holding up his offerings.

Derek steps away from the door, allowing Stiles to walk inside. “Make yourself comfortable,” Derek tells him as he heads off into the kitchen.

Stiles walks into the living room, setting the food on the coffee table and crouching down in front of the TV so he can put the movie in. 

They watch the movie and eat in mostly silence, except for the occasional times Stiles makes comments about the movie. The first movie then turns into another, because neither of them has classes the next day, and Stiles ends up seeing a movie he’s always wanted to see on Derek’s shelf. Derek doesn’t seem to mind, letting Stiles put the movie in. 

Neither realizes it, but Stiles ends up waking up the next morning on the couch. Stiles goes to move, only to then realize that he’s not just sleeping on the couch, but sleeping on top of Derek, his head pillowed on Derek’s chest. Stiles freezes immediately, barely even breathes. When Derek’s arm tightens around his middle, Stiles ends up pushing himself up, shaking Derek awake in the process.

Derek opens his eyes slowly, but when he realizes the position they’re in, he lets Stiles get up and off the couch. 

“Sorry,” Stiles says, scratching the back of his head. He can feel his face heat up. “I guess we fell asleep.”

“Yeah, we did.” 

“So, uh. You want to go get--” Stiles looks down at his phone to see the time. “Do you want to go get lunch? Since it’s kinda around that time now.”

They leave shortly after and Stiles tries to ignore how happy and comfortable he actually felt sleeping with Derek on the couch. 

\--

It’s the pack who first realizes it. They’re all hanging around Stiles’ dorm before they head out to Derek’s apartment for their weekly dinner and a movie “pack night” when Erica makes a comment about it. It’s a small, fleeting comment, but it catches Stiles’ attention regardless.

“What did you say?” Stiles asks, turning his attention away from where he’s digging through a pile of clothes to find a clean enough hoodie. 

“You and Derek,” she says. 

“Me and Derek what?” Stiles asks, because “you and Derek” isn’t really _clear_ enough, even if Stiles has an inkling about what she actually means.

“You and Derek,” she says, waving a hand at him. “You like him. It’s kind of obvious. Plus you both spend a lot of time together.”

“No,” Stiles says, because oh god, oh _god_. He _does_ like Derek, now that he lets it sink in. “No, it’s not?” His voice comes out a little squeaky. 

Erica cocks her head to the side, considering him. “You get all happy when you’re around him.”

“He’s my friend, I care about him,” Stiles tells her, because he does, a lot. Derek’s definitely become one of few people that Stiles trusts wholeheartedly, right alongside Scott and his dad. 

Erica smiles. “But you like him,” she says. “As more than a friend. We can all tell. I thought you knew.”

“I--” Stiles hesitates for a second, because he does. “I do. I like Derek. I really like Derek.”

Erica’s smile grows into a full out grin. “So? You should tell him.” 

Stiles turns to look at Isaac and Boyd, who are just looking at him.They’re smiling and silently agreeing with Erica, though, and Stiles realizes this is them showing that they fully support this. They don’t mind if their alpha dates him, because they trust Stiles, too. 

Which leads Stiles into being left alone with Derek, the pack deciding to leave instead of staying for a pack night like they were supposed to. Stiles is left staring at the door that just closed behind the three and then turns to see Derek doing the same thing.

“Where did they go?” Derek asks, looking confused.

“They left,” Stiles replies. “I have no idea where.” 

Which isn’t even a lie, because they didn’t tell him anything, they only left with a wave good bye and Erica smiling deviously. He may not know where they went, but he knows why. He’ll think of something to pay them back with. They should not mess with Stiles, no siree—

“So look’s like it’s just us then,” Derek says, knocking Stiles out of his thoughts, and he actually looks… relieved? Stiles’ stomach fills with that butterfly feeling and he’s both happy and completely nervous, for the first time around Derek, because he’s usually calm around him. 

But at the thought of being alone, of the feelings he’s realized he’s developed – or, well, a crush – he’s now feeling nervous at the idea of it.

“Yeah,” Stiles says nervously, trying his best at hiding it, but failing spectacularly.

There’s a pizza box sitting on the coffee table and a movie already on the TV screen, just waiting for someone to hit “play”. Stiles sits down on the couch and wipes his sweaty palms on his jeans. He shouldn’t be nervous, is the thing, because this is _Derek_. Who he’s grown to trust and respect – and _love_ , his traitorous mind reminds him – so he should be able to sit here, behave, and watch this movie and eat in peace. 

Stiles doesn’t know if he wants to tell Derek. It could ruin their friendship, it could—

“You can hit play,” Derek says, and Stiles looks up. 

“Yeah. Yeah, right, sorry. Hitting play now.” Stiles leans forward to grab the remote and hits play. Once the movie is on, Stiles settles back against the couch, pizza slice in one hand and tries to focus on the movie instead of Derek sitting next to him.

Now all Stiles can think about is how close they are, how watching a movie and eating dinner feels like some sort of _date_ , even if it’s not.

Somehow, they manage to watch the movie and eat dinner in peace, nothing bad happening or Derek calling Stiles on his weirdness. Stiles is pretty sure Derek can tell he’s nervous, so he’s a little surprised that Derek hasn’t said anything.

Stiles helps Derek clean up the living room. They head into the kitchen and Derek starts making a pot of coffee. There’s cookies sitting on a tray in the middle island and Stiles grabs one. He’s eating the cookie and staring at the ceiling when Derek talks.

“You’ve been quiet tonight,” Derek comments. “And I can tell you’re nervous. What I don’t get is why.”

“Um,” Stiles says for lack of anything better to say. 

“Did I do something?” Derek asks then, and no.

“No, you didn’t do anything,” Stiles assures him. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Then what’s wrong?” 

“I give up,” Stiles says, tossing the cookie onto the counter before pushing off of it, and moving into Derek’s space. “Don’t hate me, and just. If this is totally not something you want, tell me, but.” And then Stiles is cupping Derek’s face and kissing him. 

Derek seems to melt into him, his hands coming up to grab at Stiles’ hips, and god. This is the best kiss of Stiles’ life. Derek’s actually kissing him back and making these noises like he can’t get enough. 

Derek pushes him away a moment later, though, and Stiles is left staring at him, bottom lip caught between his teeth. 

“What?” Derek asks, looking confused and adorable. “What was that?”

“Uh. Me kissing you?” 

“You kissing me.”

“That was completely – I’m sorry, okay? I just really like you and everyone told me to just go for it. Which, granted, should’ve been me asking you out or something, not just kissing you out of the blue. It’s you.” Stiles waves a finger at him, trying to find his words. “You and your everything.” 

“My everything?” Derek asks, and now he’s actually got the small hint of a smile on his face, and Stiles’ chest feels all warm. 

“Your everything. And I really want to date you, Derek Hale.”

It’s Derek who initiates the kiss this time and Stiles lets it happen for a few minutes, completely caught up in it, before he pulls away to ask, “So, yeah?” 

Derek runs a finger along Stiles’ lips. “Yeah,” Derek replies. “I’ll go on a date with you.”

They spend the next ten minutes making out in the kitchen before Stiles reluctantly has to go home, because he has class early in the morning. He’d much rather stay with Derek. 

\--

Stiles starts dating Derek. It’s basically the same thing they’ve already been doing, but now Stiles gets to push Derek against walls and kiss him and run his hands through Derek’s hair until Derek looks like a ruffled mess. There’s still that little nagging thought in the back of his mind about the whole emissary issue of can he or should he, but the making out is distracting enough that all those thoughts get pushed back a bit more. 

Stiles is laying in bed with Derek when Derek finally asks the question. Stiles thinks maybe he should have seen it coming. After all, he’s already talked to Erica about this previously, that one brief conversation that he had with her before about emissaries. 

Derek is tracing patterns on his back and Stiles has his face pressed against Derek’s neck when Derek says, “I want you to be our emissary.” 

Stiles freezes for a split second before he’s pulling himself up enough that he can look Derek in the eye. There’s a softness to Derek’s eyes, but there’s also a determination there too that Stiles only ever sees when Derek’s being serious about any possible threats. 

“I’m already someone’s emissary, Derek,” Stiles reminds him. It’s not that he doesn’t want to be Derek’s emissary, because he does. Derek deserves the world, and if Stiles could do it, he would give Derek anything he asked. But this -- Stiles doesn’t know about. 

Derek’s hands squeeze onto Stiles’ hips. “Be both,” Derek tells him, like it’s that easy to do. “You can be both.”

“I don’t know,” Stiles tells him truthfully. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Think about it,” Derek says as he runs a soothing hand up and down Stiles’ back. 

Derek looks upset though, disappointed, and Stiles can’t have that. So he reaches out, grabbing a hold of Derek’s hand and bringing it closer until he can kiss his hand. “You know I would be your emissary in a heartbeat, right?” Stiles leans down, placing a chaste kiss on Derek’s lips. “I want to. I just don’t know if I can. But I’ll look into it, see if it’s possible. I don’t want anyone else to be your emissary but me.”

Derek smiles softly. “You’ve already been looking out for us.”

“I have,” Stiles agrees, kissing him again. “But you want it to be official.”

“Yeah, I would like that.”

\--

Stiles calls up the one person he knows can definitely answer his question. He doesn’t know why he didn’t think of it before, because this was the one person that helped him become Scott’s emissary and learn everything he needed to know. 

“Deaton!” Stiles yells as soon as he hears the other line pick up. “I kinda need your help.”

Deaton sighs. “What can I help you with, Stiles?”

“I kinda have a problem,” Stiles tells him. So he does, telling him about how he met Derek and his pack, about how he’s already been playing an emissary role and keeping them safe, and about how he has no idea what to do because he’s never even heard of an emissary being one for two packs. 

“It’s not common,” Deaton says. 

“But?”

“But it can happen, it’s not completely unheard of.”

Stiles lets out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “So, what? I can be both Scott’s and Derek’s emissary?”

“It won’t be easy, but you can. You’ll have to come to town, let the two alphas meet.”

“And that’s it?” Stiles asks, because that sounds too easy. 

“Not quite,” Deaton replies. “Them meeting and agreeing is sometimes the easy part - if they agree to it - but everything that comes after is the hard part. You’ll be helping two packs, protecting two packs, and that can be more difficult than not.”

“I’ve already been helping Derek’s.”

“You have, but imagine being home, and both packs being here in Beacon Hills, being able to navigate between the two. That takes dedication and the emissary has to have a lot of power.”

“I can do it. I can definitely do that.”

“I think you can, too,” Deaton agrees, and Stiles can hear him smiling on the other line. “You’ve got a lot of potential, and I know you’ll grow to be a powerful emissary, more so than you already are.” 

“Thanks.”

“Oh, and Stiles? Please give Derek my kindest regards. His mother will be extremely happy to hear her son finally found himself an emissary.”

“Yeah, I will.”

When the line goes dead, Stiles buries his head into his pillow, his body filled with both relief and a growing excitement to tell Derek the news.

\--

Stiles goes to see Derek soon after he gets off the phone with Deaton. He has take out from Derek’s favorite restaurant, that diner that’s nearby the college. He buys Derek’s favorite dinner and favorite dessert and then heads over to Derek’s place. 

He knocks on the door to Derek’s apartment and when Derek answers it, he’s wearing nothing but a pair of sweats that are hanging low on his hips. Stiles’ mouth goes dry.

“I have food,” Stiles squeaks out. “From your favorite place.”

Derek laughs lowly, opening the door wider for Stiles to come in. “I haven’t had dinner yet. I’ve been too busy.” Derek kisses him quickly on the forehead before he grabs the bags out of Stiles’ hands, heading into the kitchen to dish them out onto plates.

“I have news,” Stiles says, wrapping his arms around Derek’s middle. “Good news.”

“Yeah?” 

“I talked to Deaton.” Stiles hooks his chin over Derek’s shoulder, peering down at the food. “Turns out I can be an emissary for two packs.”

The fork clatters out of Derek’s hand and he’s turning around in Stiles’ arms and kissing him. When Derek pulls away, he’s smiling. Stiles returns the smile.

“I’ll have to talk to Scott,” Stiles says, head resting against Derek’s. 

“It’ll be fine,” Derek assures him.

“Have to tell him I’m still his emissary, but also my boyfriend’s,” Stiles says. “And then we need to talk to your mom, unless she already knows. I talked to Deaton.”

“Anything else that Deaton told you?” Derek asks. 

“You and Scott have to meet,” Stiles says. “And that it’ll be hard, but Deaton thinks I can do it.” 

“I think you’ll be great.”

“Yeah? You think so? I am kinda awesome, aren’t I?” Stiles’ smile is smug, but Derek quickly kisses it right off his face.

Stiles can be an emissary for two packs, and he’ll be fucking _awesome_ at it.


End file.
